3 ms·
Go off the cost of living: decent enough apartment, cost of food, clothing, leisure items, cell phone/Internet service, one vacation for the year, any books/stu
by maxaf 12y ago
Go off the cost of living: decent enough apartment, cost of food, clothing, leisure items, cell phone/Internet service, one vacation for the year, any books/study materials/courses you'd want to pay for yourself. Sum all that up, add 15% on top to give yourself room in case you're forced to negotiate, and throw that number over the fence.
If they try to push you down lower, this isn't the place for you: your cost of living is what it is, and forcing you to work for less than that is simply unfair. Keep looking for a better place.
- gk1 12y agoI really wouldn't suggest this. For some -- especially a recent grad -- the cost of living may be very low. So by following this formula you're very likely to undervalue yourself. Not to mention that your first salary impacts all your future salaries (it acts as a baseline), when your cost of living is likely to be much higher.
- jtheory 12y agoThis seems to completely ignore what you'd be doing for this company. This kind of living costs calculation (or something like it) is useful if you're starting your own company -- and want to figure out what profit you'll need to be making before you decide "this is worth the effort". But if you're being hired to do a job, this isn't a good approach.
- nathan_long 12y agoYour cost of living is the minimum that you can accept. How much the company will earn from the products of your labor is the maximum that they can pay you. For high-value workers, there is a large gap between those two. Negotiating is about dividing the surplus. Your strategy suggests "give almost all of the surplus away."
- sciurus 12y agoI don't like this idea, but if anyone is compelled to use this formula please include savings as well. I'd shoot for being able to save 20% of your salary.